With a new wave of advanced reactors on the way, the United States needs a strategy to utilize nuclear fuel recycling, former Department of Energy assistant secretary of Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff said in an opinion piece.
“As a former assistant secretary for nuclear energy, I recently watched my successor, Ted Garrish, confirmed by the Senate,” Huff wrote in a Monday opinion piece that appeared in Newsweek. “As he embarks on his duties, he will face demand for more than just reactors. Nuclear power expansion also requires a sustainable approach to nuclear fuel. That’s why a credible, durable, national nuclear fuel recycling strategy is needed.”
More than 90,000 metric tons of nuclear waste is stored across 73 sites in the United States, with 2,000 tons added each year, Huff said. Within the large masses of waste is an “untapped capacity for clean power, enrichment savings and uranium resource extension”, Huff said. There are significant amounts of energy left in used fuel, she added.
Huff said the executive order, “Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base” directed DOE to look into the viability of fuel recycling and to propose a national recycling policy by January 18, 2026.
A national strategy is needed to identify regulatory changes, update economic models and support the country’s stance on nuclear security, Huff said. A national strategy should also include recycling materials like plutonium, she added.
“A responsible recycling strategy must secure materials like separated plutonium, which could be used to construct a nuclear weapon,” Huff said. “Modern recycling methods can keep plutonium mixed with other nuclides, rendering it unsuitable for weapons. Meanwhile, oversight, facility security, and robust material accountancy can secure even facilities containing separated plutonium.”
While legislative and regulatory changes could help, Huff noted the U.S. nuclear industry is already moving forward with commercial fuel recycling projects.
Last month, Oklo, a nuclear company based in Santa Clara, Calif., announced plans to build a $1.68 billion recycling facility in Tennessee. Another nuclear technology company based in Washington, D.C., Curio, has been working on a lab-scale demonstration with DOE’s National Laboratories for its fuel recycling technology, NuCycle.
“Approached deliberatively, recycling could strengthen that ability by treating used fuel as a resource, shortening repository timelines, and ensuring future uranium availability,” Huff said.
Huff formerly served as the head of DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy under the Joe Biden administration from 2022 to 2024.